Railroad-tie.



ALEXANDER l?. SIiUMAN, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAILROAD-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1908 Application filed May 13, 1907. Serial No. 373.232.

To all Iwhom it may concern: j

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER F. SHU- Mav, citizen of the. United States, residing at I vClncago, in the county of (look and State of Illinois,4 have invented certain new and uselul Improvements 1n Railroad-Ties, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railroad ties and the especial objects of the improvements which' form the subject matter of this application are: to produce a tie that can be made up of a plurality of short planks or wood strips set edgewise and iirmly secured together so as to provide a substantial support for the rails restinvF thereon; to provide for increasing the durability of such ties by so treating them that both air and moisture-will be excluded from contact with the fibers of the wood; to provide against the spreading apart of the several mem bers composing the tie to provide eil'ective means for securing the rails in position on the ties, and to provide for the maintenance of such securing means under the conditions to which railroad ties are subjected.

Having the foregoing special objects, and others of general utility and economy in view, I have invented the tie'shown in the accompanying drawing in a preferred form in the following views 1- Figure 1 is a perspecti'.c view of a railroad ,tie made according to'my invention Fig. 2 is an end 'view ofthe tie; Fig. 3 is a detail of the tie-plate which forms an important element of myinvention, and Fig. 4 .is a fragmentary yview showing the application of a rail to my improved tie.

Referring to the details of the drawing, 10 represents planks ol suitable dimensions which are placed on edge side by side, and

bored transversely to receivethe bolts 12. As many of these planks as are necessary to make up a tie ofthe desired size, will be used.

11 represents tie plates which are preferably formed of sheet metal and bent to provide the horizontal midportion and the .ver'

vtical legs, the former resting on the edges of the plank and the latter embracing the outer planks. In the edges of the horizontal portion of the' tie plate, notches 16 are formed 1n 'a staggered relation, into which are fitted and driven, the spikes 15 of the usual railroad type. In the vertical portions are formed slightly elongated slots 13, to receive the bolts 12 and to permit the recession ol"` the plates as the planks become worn from use.

The plates 11 placed near the ends of the ties and over the upper edges of the planks,

may be sufficient under many conditions to furnish with their attaching bolts 12 adequate binding means to prevent the planks from spreading, but as a precaution against such spreading especially of their lower edges, l may apply one or more intermediate plates 11 arranging the plates under the plank instead of above it and securing them by bolts 12 passing through suitable holes'in the planks.

rIo effect the exclusion of air-and moisture from the fibers of the planks, after boring the latter with the holes to receive the bolts l2, I dip each plank in a bath of hot asphaltunr or other substance or solution having the desired qualities, thus allowing the bath solution to enter the bolt holes and thereby preventing any moisture from reaching the interior of the plank by creeping along the bolts from their exposed ends. After each plank is thus treated' the requisite number for a tie are 'assembled loosely -on the bolts l2 and in this form are again-,dipped in the asphaltum .and before the latter dries, the nuts are screwed upon the bolts, thus draw-y ing the plank members closely together, and causing some of the asphaltumon the contiguous faces of the planks to be pressed into the pores of the wood,and the surplus after filling any voids caused by unevenness in the faces of the planks will flow over'the edges of the latter and completely seal the joints between the planks. After the ties thus constructed are suiiiciently dry, the bolts are removed and the plates .1l are applied in the manner described, the bolts being reinserted to secure the plates in position.

In Fig. 1 the heavily shaded portion 17 shows the tie in its complete form, and 18 indicates a single plank after being dipped.

I am aware that tiesmade up of a plurality of wood strips placed on edge and secured together by bolts are not new, and I do not broadly claim such, but

1. A railroad tie consistinfr of a plurality of planks set edgewise, tie-pl5ates embracing said planks, and bolts passimT through said plates and planks, substantially as set forth.

2. A railroad-tie consisting of a plurality of planks set edgewise, 'slotted tie-plates p of planks set edgewise, each of said planks embracing` said planks, and bolts passing through the slots in said plates, and passing transversely through said planks.`

3. A railroad-tie consisting of aplurality of planks set edgewise, slotted tie plates embracing said planks and having spike receivmg notches in their edges, and bolts passing through the slots in said plates and passing transversely through said planks.

4.' A railroad-tie consisting of a plurality having a coating of moisture excluding substance applied individually thereto, an'd a second coating applied in their assembled relation, and means for clamping saidplanks together, said means adapted to serve as chairs for the rails. y A

5. A railroa dtie consisting of a plurality of planks set edgewise,'each of said planks being bored transversel to receive bolts and then dipped individual y in a moisture excluding substance, 'and then dippedmin their assembled relat1on,and means `for securing said planks together, ,said means comprising of planks set edgewise, each of saidzplanks bored transversely to. receive bolts, and said planks coated on all surfaces with a moisture excluding substance, and means for securing said planks together, said means comprising tie-plates embracing the planks. and bolts adapted to draw, the planks closely together whereby all exposed voids in the tie will be filled with the moisture excluding subs-tance. In testimony whereotl I aflix my signature in the presence of two' witnesses. l ALEXANDER F. SHUMAN. Witnesses:

F. BENJAMIN, WM. B. MOORE. 

